Black N
Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1985 Jun 29;290(6486):1963-5. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6486.1963.
Several factors have led to the current epidemic of surgery for glue ear in children, including the widespread introduction of audiometry; greater recognition of the presence of fluid in the middle ear by general practitioners; the availability of more otolaryngologists; and technical advances such as the availability of antibiotics to treat postoperative infections and of flanged tympanostomy tubes (grommets). The need of surgeons to fill the vacuum caused by the decline in the number of adenotonsillectomies, and the fact that a diagnosis of glue ear legitimises the continued use of these operations, may also have contributed to the increase. Finally, glue ear may provide parents with a medical explanation of their children's poor educational performance, as the term dyslexia did in the past. The high social and public costs of this operation demand a reappraisal of its increasing use.
有几个因素导致了目前儿童胶耳手术的流行，包括听力测定的广泛应用；全科医生对中耳积液存在情况的更多认识；耳鼻喉科医生数量的增加；以及技术进步，如用于治疗术后感染的抗生素和带凸缘鼓膜造口管（通气管）的 availability 。外科医生需要填补腺样体扁桃体切除术数量下降所造成的空白，以及胶耳的诊断使这些手术的持续使用合法化这一事实，也可能促使了手术量的增加。最后，胶耳可能会像过去“诵读困难”这个词一样，为家长提供孩子学业成绩不佳的医学解释。这种手术高昂的社会和公共成本要求对其日益增加的使用情况进行重新评估。
